Supra Advice

[cool hand]

Hello my name is Luke and I'm new to the Supra world.

After having several runabout boats our family has decided its time to look into a serious ski boat. We have looked at many well taken care of boats over the last couple weeks here in Indiana. 2 of which are a Supra's. Boat number 1 is an 89 Supra Comp T6. Boat number 2 is a 90 Supra Conbrio. Best as I can tell both boats are very well taken care of, but I'm completely new to Supra boats and know very little about the model differences or what to look for as far as problem areas. The price range we've looked is the 10k and less, so that does limit our options.

We're mostly a slalom skiing family, though wakeboarding has become more of an interest lately. We've skied for years behind a 18' 185hp welcraft I/O so I'm assuming any inboard will be fantastic compared to what we're used to.

So what should I know about these boats? Is one going to be better than the other? What kind of issues are common on a boat of this age that I should avoid.

Ideally an open bow that would be rated for more people would be better, but minus a sport nautique here or there, that seem to be out of the reach for this dollar value. Does Supra have a boat similar to these that I havent seen yet that is bigger?

Thanks supra Forums

Luke Clark
Brownsburg, Indiana

[bryan632]

Welcome to the Supra world. Both boats really nice and you would be happy with both. as far as problem areas, they have the same problems pretty much all older boats have. Before purchasing, you would want to check the integrity of the floor and stringers. you can do this by lifting the engine bubble and looking under at the floor and by turning the motor mount bolt. if it is really loose and won't tighten, then the stringers are rotted. Supras are really well made boats. If you are looking for an open bow, the Supra Sunsport is an awesome boat for slalom and for wakeboarding. If you lower the wake plate, it will rise right up out and make a pretty flat wake. It is a pretty deep vee boat so if you raise the plate and slow your speed to wakeboard speed it throws out a pretty nice wake with no ballast. I have pics of my sunsport up on my thread. http://supraboats.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=4303
I am on my second season on it and I absolutely love it. If you want more info on the sunsport, feel free to ask me or any of the other sunsport owners on here. there are a lot of comp and conbrio owners on here too with a lot of info on them. Hope you find one soon.

[mapleleaf]

First of all welcome, I'm a Conbrio owner and I bought it w/o knowing how low the freeboard was....It is a great boat, but def. made for calm water ( awesome skiing so-so wakeboarding)
Things to look for on these boats( pre '92) are the wooden stringers rotting, can be checked by tightening engine moun t bolts. Can be a big job, depends on what you're looking for.
I love mine, but will always be looking for the "next" boat!
Supra made a longer Mariah (open bow) low freeboard ski boat that would hold more weight. My exp. tells me that 1 adult in my open bow boat requires some skill in the drive to avoid a submarine......
Happy Shopping!!!

[BigCity444]

Mapleleaf summed up the open bow issue very well. More then one adult in the playpen and with any kind of oncoming wake; torpedo. The Mariah is great all purpose boat because it isn't pigeonholed by characteristics. It can pull several barefooters with a very small wake and get some people or weight and it works as a wakeboard boat.

[cool hand]

What are the differences between the comp and the conbrio?

The intent of this boat is mainly skiing, but it will be trailered wherever we go so once the skiing is over for the day it'll still have to suffice as a cruiser. Are these boats going to be too low slung to ski in the morning, and then cruise in the afternoon on a moderate to busy inland lake in the afternoon such as lake James or lake freeman?

The play pen is kind of a mute point since it really doesn' t gain you anything as far as people rating.

[mapleleaf]

My Conbrio is a fun cruiser, because it's close to the water....other wakes can be an issue....I've never skiied behind a boat with a smaller wake....The Sunsport and maybe the Mariah would make better cruiser's, and are still great to ski behind, but I'll be biased until I sell my Conbrio!!! You just have to be careful in rougher water, I absolutely love it for the dawn and dusk skiing!!!!
I think the only diff. between the comp and the Conbrio are the playpen bow, everything else should be the same.....

[Supra-in-steamboat]

Luke- the Conbrio has an open bow, the Comp does not. Both are awesome ski boats. I prefer the SunSport as it is more universal. You can ski,wakeboard, surf, and not worry if the lake is busy/rough as it is very stable in all conditions. It is a family boat. I do like my friends Comp as it feels like a rocket ship on the water but have seen waves come over the front. I would not call the Comps or Conbrios unsafe for this reason as taking on a bit of water is ok- but they will not handle rough water like your Wellcraft (if it is the deep "V") or a SunSport, Mariah, or Ryder would.
Good luck with the new purchase decision. I don't think you will be dissapointed with any Supra purchase. Shoot me a PM with a phone # if you want to BS about boats-I know it's alot to spend right now.
Here is a pic of my friends Comp in the water- you can see it sits lower. The other pic is the a$$ end of my SunSport- it sits alot higher out of the water.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

You can see pics and vids of my SunSport in the links in my signature. If you are hardcord slalom (like only ski on slalom courses) then you want the Comp. Otherwise you should check out the SunSport or the Mariah for an in-between boat.

[foxriverat]

Found this in your area. Dont know if its still available. But looks like a great price. http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/boa/1758619625.html

[Sluggo]

If you are interested in that boat, I have a buddy that is part of the ski club down there and is pretty familiar with all the folks down there. Might be able to offer an unbiased opinion. But it's not a Supra!!!